The tree is key to holiday decorating

A shoe-themed tree sits on decorator Jane Tunks' dresser.

Photograph by: Chris Mikula
, The Ottawa Citizen

Are you in the festive spirit yet? Jane Tunks is; she has been for over a month. The organizer of last weekend's Christmas in Carleton Place House Tour and self-confessed Christmas nut starts decorating her home Nov. 1, taking a month to put up more than two dozen trees and boxes upon boxes of garland, bows (and boughs), ribbon, knick-knacks and more.

That doesn't mean we all need to go to such an extreme, but if you're looking for some decorating guidance, self-taught designer Tunks offers the following suggestions to dress up your home for the season.

The tree is key

Whether you're using a real or a fake tree, you need to prepare it before you decorate it. For artificial, the biggest mistake people make is failing to spread out the branches, Tunks says.

"You've got to open it up and make it look real," a job that should take at least an hour to get right. It's important to step back and check out your work, especially if the tree is in front of a window, where light coming in will highlight gaps in the branches.

The principle is the same for a real tree, she says. "Cut off the wayward little things that go wonky and take the grass and dead stuff out."

And a big reservoir for a real tree is critical. "Those little dinky things, they're ridiculous because they'll dry out in two hours."

Always make a fresh trunk cut, taking off at least two centimetres if the tree lot didn't, she says. But if you don't plan to set up the tree right away, then don't cut it until you do.

Real vs. fake

Tunks has both, but admits she cannot have Christmas without a real tree. "I went one Christmas without a real tree ... and I actually cried," she says. Her preference is Fraser fir for its branch strength, with the delightful aroma of balsam fir a close second.

While she acknowledges that many find artificial trees easier to manage, she has found an easy solution to making a real tree last: ginger ale. She has been using this trick for more than 25 years and cites last year as an example, when her busy schedule meant the tree that was put up Dec. 2 didn't get taken down until the end of January "and it was sprouting at the top, I couldn't believe my eyes."

She says to use only regular ginger ale, not diet or 7Up or Sprite, instead of water and make sure it doesn't run dry. She'll switch to tap water a couple of days before she takes the tree down.

As for decorating, "real trees lend themselves, in my opinion, to different kinds of decorations," she adds. Artificial trees have an easier time holding weighty ornaments. "On a real tree, sometimes you have to try four or five locations to see which branch is going to hold that ornament and it takes a lot longer to decorate."

If you're going real, she recommends the trunk be at least 15 cm in diameter to be able to support heavier ornaments.

Let there be light

Another common mistake is not putting enough lights on your tree.

"You've got to blitz it with lights," Tunks says. As a guideline, she recommends at least 600 to 700 lights on a seven-foot tree, although personally she would put about 1,000. "For every foot of the tree you should have 100 lights."

When putting the lights on, shove the strands into the centre and then come back out, she says, adding that you don't need to wrap them around the branches, "just lay them gingerly and let the tree keep its form and its shape."

As you work in the lights, remember to occasionally step back and squint. "If you don't squint, you can't see the way your lights go."

Great balls of ornaments

You need lots of ornaments to make your tree stand out, at least 250 to 300 for a seven-foot tree.

Within reason, the bottom of the tree should have larger ornaments than the top, Tunks says, but she notes it's a misconception that you can't put larger balls at the top. "There's no reason why you can't put bigger balls everywhere, especially if there's holes on an artificial tree."

On real trees, she will fill big gaping holes first with large ornaments, while on artificial trees she fills holes afterwards by tucking ornaments inside. "It's a pain, but you just work your way in with the ornament."

If the ornament hanger or hook is too long for where you want to hang a particular ornament, just twist it around and around until you have your desired length. Long strings or cords all over the tree can look unsightly anyway, she says.

And if you're short on ornaments as well as cash, you can find simple, big ornaments at the dollar store to help fill holes.

Cheap tricks

If you're on a tight budget, Tunks recommends focusing on garlands, bows (and boughs) and lights. "That makes all the difference in the world."

For the tree especially, ribbon goes a long way. "If you can put ribbon with some glitter in the tree ... it fills up the space as well as reflects back out and makes the tree look like it's a little more heavy with ornaments." They can also be twirled and twisted into garlands and wreaths for other spots around your home. Think about buying at discount prices after the holidays for substantial savings.

Boughs are economical and go a long way. They're free from the bottom of your tree when you cut off the bottom branches to make the tree fit in your home. And tree lots can have an abundance of boughs from trimming and wrapping trees. You can ask if they'll give you a few.

To top or not?

You don't have to, says Tunks, who does use a topper. But even if you do use one, it doesn't have to be standard. Just about anything would work, even a collection of branches.

"I personally think it needs something up there."

Bottom's up

Too often the bottom of the tree is forgotten, Tunks says. "Nothing looks more awkward to me than a tree that has nothing at the bottom."

She recommends not leaving a space between the bottom of the tree and the floor so that the eye can travel from the tree top to the skirt.

A tree skirt is important, she says, although it doesn't have to be traditional. "Use anything that marries itself with your decor ... You can use a throw, a garland with lights, a wreath, pine cones, a tablecloth, a scarf. Let your imagination be your guide."

Think outside the box

Get creative when it comes to deciding where to put your Christmas decor. Sure, there's always the front window for a tree and the mantel or banister for a garland, but look elsewhere as well.

With more than two dozen trees in her own home, Tunks has had to find lots of unexpected spots: on top of the dryer for her card tree, for instance, or in the kitchen for her Bill Blass bottle brush tree. "I put a tree in every bathroom," she says.

What's big this year?

A modern, more eclectic look is in, but also a juxtaposition of modern and traditional country decor, which Tunks says is making a comeback. She, too, marries the two styles in her own home.

Watch also for silvers, bright colours and a lot of white trees.

"Tinsel's making a comeback, very slowly," she says, although it's coming back in different ways, like tinsel trees.

"I don't mind burying some tinsel in some trees but bury it so that it comes from the inside out," Tunks recommends.

But anything goes, she says, and what it really comes down to is to go with whatever makes you feel good.

"There's always styles that come and go, but your favourite Christmas trees are the memories from the ornaments that you get when you're hanging them up.

"My favourite are the little paper plate and doily angels that my children made me in kindergarten and they get front and centre. People say, 'You've got them married with a $30 ornament?' Yeah, because to me that's Christmas."

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